Cathédrale Saint-Michel de Carcassonne

Carcassonne

In 1240, Raymond Trencavel besieged Carcassonne; at the end of the siege, the suburbs huddled at the foot of the Cité were razed, and with them a first church of Saint-Michel. In 1247 Saint Louis authorised the establishment of a new town on the left bank of the Aude: this is the Bastide, laid out on a grid, where two large churches, Saint-Vincent and Saint-Michel, took over the dedications of the vanished parishes. Saint-Michel, modest at first, had to be enlarged as early as 1283, with the agreement of King Philip the Bold. In 1355, in the midst of the Anglo-French war, the Black Prince crossed Languedoc and burnt the Bastide, whose inhabitants took refuge in the Cité. The church was one of the few buildings still standing, but badly damaged. It was raised again and made part of the defences: its south flank was incorporated into the new town wall, ditches ten metres wide surrounded it, and a round tower of military appearance survives near the apse. The single vessel, more than sixteen metres wide, long remained covered by a timber roof; the vaults came only in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1803, the bishop's see left the Cité and Saint-Nazaire to come down here. After the fire of 1849, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, for whom this was the first major building project in Carcassonne, freed the church of its wall walk, opened roses above the chapels and covered the walls with geometric paintings of medieval inspiration. In 1860, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll delivered the organ whose case the architect had designed, crowned with a Saint Michael slaying the dragon. On the austere façade, a single rose eight metres across.

Wikipédia — Cathédrale Saint-Michel de Carcassonne ↗

Getting there : 52 Rue Voltaire, in the Bastide, about ten minutes' walk from the station (tourist office). According to the tourist office, entry is free; closed on Mondays, seasonal opening times to be checked. The Cité and the former cathedral of Saint-Nazaire are on the other side of the Aude.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound